The Beauty of Holiness
In 2004 I was about four years into being regularly encouraged to practice meditation. A couple in the parish, June, and Bill were experienced in the practice. Bill was a retired medical doctor, and June, with a PhD in education had held several fascinating positions. They never pushed the topic of meditation on anyone but made it available at the church as a group experience weekly. They also gently reinforced with me what Christian Meditation was about. I came and participated quite a few times but did not make it a consistent practice in my prayer life until ten years later.
Does that mean I am slow? Yes, it does. I caught on to its importance for me ten years after I first knew its value, precisely when I was ready to. I emphasize what I latched on to is CHRISTIAN Meditation. Although meditation is a universal discovery for people from nearly every faith, its roots for Christians go back to the beginnings of the Christian faith.
Certain sayings of Jesus and the reported practices of Jesus through the Gospels point to this aspect of prayer. One finds connections to such prayer throughout the Epistles of the New Testament. The first five centuries, during the spread of Christian belief and practice material, was produced which touches on simplicity, silence, and stillness. These elements are essentials of contemplative spirituality and the mystical tradition.
When I speak or write about it, I often refer to influence from fourth and fifth-century figures, ascetics, such as Evagrius Ponticus and John Cassian. They are not names broadly known, but they contributed greatly to evolving, strong elements of Christian faith and practice. Let me describe two practices I cover in my Prayer Training classes on Wednesday evenings and Saturday Mornings. One of the several topics is Christian Meditation as I already mentioned. A second one is the Anglican Rosary.
Tomorrow, I will teach Christian Meditation in the fifty-minute discussion session at 10 AM in the Bride’s Room right off the foyer of our worship space. I will also be hosting it on Zoom for those who cannot come in person. Please come online or in-person for our time together in prayer and on the topic of prayer.
In other sessions, I teach the Anglican Rosary (Prayer Beads). Picture a round strand with thirty-two beads. There are four groups of seven small beads, separated by four larger beads. The small beads are called the “weeks” because they sit in those groups of seven. The larger beads are called “cruciform” because if you were to draw two imaginary lines top to bottom and side to side through the cruciform beads they would form a cross. There is a short, straight extension coming off the bottom cruciform bead, with just one extra bead and a small cross at the end. That is the best I can do, describing them in a couple of paragraphs, without showing you a diagram.
This little tactile counting tool, the Anglican rosary allows a prayerful repetition of two chosen scriptures, selected by you. These verses from the Bible come to be internalized with your heart and mind as you move your way around the strand. As an example, let me select two verses from the psalm on Trinity Sunday, Psalm 29:
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his Name; *
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
9 And in the temple of the Lord *
all are crying, "Glory!"
Picture yourself holding the first bead in the first section of seven and saying aloud verse two, unhurriedly, repeating it for a total of seven times. Then, you hold the first of the four cruciform beads and say verse nine. Repeating that pattern with the second section, around the strand you go. You end the fourth and final section of seven with your fingers on the last cruciform bead, saying verse nine for the fourth time. The whole exercise has taken about four minutes, and in that time these lines of scripture have seeped into the fibers of your soul.
In doing this, I would say, you have produced for yourself a little space for “the beauty of holiness,” all around you, and within you. Your heart is saying “Glory!” and you are experiencing an element of holiness. It is indeed beautiful.
You have heard of Galveston’s “Dickens on the Strand’? This is devotion on the strand. It is a little tough to describe the process in a few paragraphs, but make an appointment with me anytime for a lesson, and I will show you with diagrams and with an actual Anglican rosary. I am already scheduled for a group session to teach this with any who come in the fourth week of June on Wed. evening, 6/23, and Sat. morning, 6/26. Whatever verses we choose to use, we will surely find ourselves in quiet worship, wrapped in the beauty of holiness.